The US Marine Corps will start local area flights on the F-35B next week at Eglin AFB, Florida, but all is not well at manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
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Meanwhile, local area flights at Eglin AFB, Florida, are on-going with the F-35A conventional take-off and landing version. But on 1 May, the USMC's F-35B models should be joining the F-35A in the air once Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) gives its consent.

"[We] expect to be flying on or about 1 May," a senior USMC official says.